This. Galt and the others that removed themselves from the collapsing society were not the ones that were collapsing society, nor was the collapse their end-go

This. Galt and the others that removed themselves from the collapsing society were not the ones that were collapsing society, nor was the collapse their end-goal. In the story, the looters were causing the collapse, and were taking everything not nailed down in the process. Galt and the others simply decided to leave them to it.